Worth the Risk

by Heather B. Moore

  “See you later, man,” Grant said, pulling Maurie along with him.

  Jeff watched the couple walk away. They seemed to be in sync, and he wondered if he’d ever have that.

  He turned to survey the various booths; then he started to walk through them, thinking he might return to the booth with western sculptures. A couple of minutes later, he found his mom’s booth. Several women were crowded around it, and his mom and Mrs. Waters were busy answering questions and displaying jewelry. When his mom looked his way, Jeff waved. She smiled and mouthed, “Come back in a little bit.”

  So Jeff moved away, intent on returning to the western sculpture booth, when he bumped into a woman. “Sorry,” he said, reaching out to steady the woman. Then he realized it was Alicia.

  “It’s okay,” she said, looking up at him. Her eyes rounded. “Oh, hi.”

  “Hi . . . Are you okay?” he asked. She wore an olive V-neck shirt beneath a dark jacket, which made her eyes look darker than normal. He was glad to see she wore a soft, curious expression, not the skittish one she’d had when they were at the café with their moms.

  “I’m fine,” Alicia said. “Looks like this place is busy—a good thing for our moms.”

  “Yeah.” Jeff shoved his hands in his pockets. The conversation was definitely awkward, but he couldn’t come up with anything better to say or any question to ask to prolong their interaction.

  But Alicia hadn’t made her excuses and left either.

  The smallest hope grew inside Jeff, but he tamped it down. It was only a coincidence that they’d run into each other.

  “So, how have you been doing?” Alicia asked.

  She was still standing in front of him, and she was asking him questions. Jeff blinked. “Busy,” he said. Then he gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Don’t you hate it when people say that? I mean, it’s like they’re saying they’re busier and more important than the person they’re talking to.”

  “True,” Alicia said with a nod. A small smile had turned up her pale red lips.

  Jeff wondered if she was wearing lip gloss.

  “Maybe it’s just a brush off, like when someone says ‘fine.’” She slipped her hands into her jeans pockets, and Jeff couldn’t help but notice how well her jeans fit her curves.

  “I just saw Grant Shelton—remember him?” Jeff asked. “We both talked about how busy we are.”

  Alicia gave a small laugh, and Jeff’s heart tripped.

  “Grant was a couple of years older than us, right?” she asked. “One of those all-state athlete guys?”

  “Yeah, I think he played a few sports.”

  Alicia glanced away for a split second. Was she done speaking to him? Did she wish that they hadn’t run into each other? “So what’s Grant up to? Besides being busy.”

  Jeff could answer these questions. “He’s dating someone. He went through a divorce, you know, and has a kid.”

  Alicia nodded. “Yeah, I think I remember that. Who’s he dating?”

  “Maurie someone . . . Do you know her?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “What about you?”

  “Do I know Maurie?”

  “No, are you dating someone?”

  Jeff blinked. He was totally unprepared for this question from Alicia. That small bit of hope returned. “I’m not.” He saw her swallow.

  “No Paige?”

  “Definitely no Paige,” he said. “And I don’t think I’ll be dating for a while.”

  Her brows shot up. “Oh, really? Why not?”

  It was Jeff’s turn to swallow, and he couldn’t believe he was about to say this. “Because it’s going to be hard to find a woman who will compare to you.”

  Alicia’s face pinked, and one side of her mouth lifted. She didn’t act completely surprised at his comment, only pleased.

  His hope grew.

  And she still wasn’t trying to walk away.

  “My mom said the hot cocoa was really good here,” she said. “And the giant cinnamon rolls.”

  Jeff grinned. “Cinnamon rolls, huh? Should we go see if your mom’s right?”

  Alicia gave a tiny shrug, but her smile had grown.

  So they walked together toward the food trucks. Everything smelled and looked delicious, Jeff decided. Maybe he was just really hungry, but he would have eaten whatever Alicia wanted if it meant spending more time with her. He knew he shouldn’t be letting himself have this much hope. She’d been pretty adamant about not being friends. So he wasn’t quite sure what was going on right now; but he wasn’t going to question it at this point.

  While they stood in line behind a frazzled young mom with two small kids, Alicia nudged his arm. “I’m paying, just so you know.”

  “I can pay,” Jeff said.

  “If anyone owes anyone anything, it’s me who owes you.” She placed a hand on his chest when he tried to argue. “You brought your mom into my mom’s life. And she’s made miraculous changes. I’ll never be able to thank you for that, so let me buy you a cinnamon roll.”

  Jeff was only thinking about how her hand was on his chest. Through his clothing, he could feel the warmth from the pressure of her palm. Could she feel how hard his heart was thumping? He nodded. “Okay, but only if you insist.”

  Her laugh was light. “I insist.”

  She dropped her hand and turned forward again as if she hadn’t just shifted his entire world.

  The young mom with the kids placed her order, then Alicia stepped up and ordered two cinnamon rolls and two hot cocoas. They sat at the end of a long picnic table, while another group of people occupied the other end.

  “How’s the real estate market?” she asked after they settled on their seats.

  “Overall, it’s been great for me,” he said. “Now that I’ve been in business for a while, I get a lot of personal referrals from previous clients. Also, with the court case over, I’m way more focused on what I need to be.”

  “Did your cousin ever counter-sue?” she asked, then took a sip of her hot chocolate.

  “Not yet,” he said. “Dawson says the longer Kyle waits, the harder it will be for him to build a case.” He shrugged. “Not that he really has a case anyway.”

  “I’m glad.” Alicia cut into her cinnamon roll and took a bite. The rolls were so gooey with frosting that they took a fork and knife to eat.

  “How’s your job going?” he asked, after taking a bite of his own roll. It was as delicious as it smelled.

  Alicia exhaled. “It’s the same as always. Pretty boring, actually. No exciting confrontations with ex-girlfriends lately.”

  Jeff groaned. “I can’t believe Paige did that.”

  “What ever happened to her?” she asked in a casual tone, but Jeff could tell she was genuinely curious.

  “I haven’t heard from her since the day I threatened to file a restraining order against her.”

  Alicia’s mouth fell open. “You didn’t.”

  “I did,” Jeff said. “Dawson recommended bringing it up. It worked. She dropped all contact.”

  “I keep expecting that picture she took of me to show up on social media somewhere as a death threat meme.”

  “Hopefully, she’s smarter than that,” Jeff said. “I just don’t know why I even started dating Paige in the first place.”

  Alicia laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Paige is model gorgeous. I mean, every man probably wants to date her,” Alicia said. “And the ones who don’t, fantasize about dating her.”

  Jeff took a sip of his own hot chocolate. It was the perfect temperature now. “Those men are wasting their time, just like I was. I’m not exactly proud of some of my decisions. But I’m working to make changes.”

  This seemed to interest Alicia. “What changes?”

  He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture of his Lamborghini with its new owner. “This is Eric—the man I just sold my car to this morning.”

  Alicia stared. “You sold it? Why?”

&n
bsp; “Like I said, I’m making some changes.” Jeff smiled at her surprised expression. “Hey, do you want to check out the booth with western sculptures with me?”

  “Okay,” Alicia said, with no hesitation at all.

  That was good enough for Jeff.

  Alicia didn’t want to lead Jeff on, yet she wanted to lead him on . . . straight into accepting her apology. But the arts and crafts fair wasn’t exactly a private place to explain how she’d made a mistake. She had needed some time to herself to figure out if she was willing to risk her heart, if she was willing to accept Jeff into her life—past, present, and future Jeff.

  They walked to a booth that displayed small sculptures of horses and cowboys and wolves, and other creatures. Some of them were cast in bronze, and Alicia could admit that the sculptor was talented.

  “What about this one?” Jeff asked, pointing to a pair of horses, both of them frozen mid-stride.

  Alicia bent close. The detail was remarkable, and she could imagine the horses running across a vast plain, manes blowing in the wind, with the setting sun a backdrop. “I like it,” she said. Then she looked at the price tag. “Three hundred fifty dollars? Wow.”

  “It’s original art,” Jeff said. “And I like it, and since I have my own house, no one else can tell me how to decorate it.”

  Alicia smiled. “Oh, so that’s how it is. Do you have a cowboy western theme in your home?”

  “Not exactly,” he said, his blue eyes filled with amusement.

  “Well, I have no problem with you getting this horse sculpture. Even if it is three-fifty.”

  Jeff nodded. “Thanks. I did make a profit on the Lamborghini.”

  “You really don’t have to justify anything to me,” she said, touching his arm and squeezing. She kept doing this—touching him—although Jeff hadn’t seemed to mind. She dropped her hand.

  “Okay, that’s good,” Jeff said with a wink. “Do you want one?”

  “A sculpture?” Alicia asked, incredulous. “No, I’m good. I’m not really in the market for a sculpture, and I’m afraid it’s a little out of my price range.”

  Jeff rotated the sculpture of the horses. “It would be a gift.”

  She folded her arms. Sometimes Jeff was kind of outrageous. “No, I can’t accept such an expensive gift from you.”

  Jeff met her eyes. “You haven’t even looked at all of them.”

  Alicia laughed off his comment, although she was feeling plenty warm inside. Jeff was being a lot more friendly and receptive than she’d expected. This made her think that he would forgive her, or had already. “I don’t need to. I just know I don’t want one.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, holding her gaze a moment longer. Then he walked over to the sales person and made arrangements to purchase the sculpture. Moments later, it was bubble-wrapped and nestled in a thick plastic bag.

  When he returned to Alicia’s side, he said, “Do you want to look at anything else?”

  She shrugged. “Not especially. I came to see my mom, but not really to shop.”

  “Same here.” Jeff held up his purchase.

  They both laughed.

  “Remember the rock necklace I gave you the summer before high school?” he suddenly said.

  “The one you made from that green rock we found?” Alicia said in a slow voice.

  “Yeah, and then you lost it.”

  Alicia felt her face heat. “Don’t remind me. I felt terrible.”

  “I think we can get rid of that guilt,” Jeff said with a sly look.

  “How?”

  “There’s a booth over there that sells rock jewelry,” he said. “I saw it on the way over to our moms’ booth.”

  “Really?” Alicia said. “They’re probably not as good as the one you made for me.”

  “Of course not.” He laughed. “Let’s go check it out.”

  Alicia walked with him over to another booth. The jewelry was clunky, but unique. Nothing she’d normally wear, but if Jeff was so insistent . . .

  “What do you think of this?” He held up a necklace made with a black ribbon, from which dangled a green stone wrapped in silver prongs.

  Alicia moved to where he was standing. “It looks pretty flimsy.”

  Jeff shrugged. “It’s five bucks, so not really a huge loss if it breaks.” His gaze searched hers. “It’s pretty, though, right?”

  “I like it,” Alicia said.

  He grinned. “Let’s see what it looks like.”

  Before she could say anything, he moved behind her and slipped the necklace around her neck.

  She touched the rock where it nestled against the hollow of her neck. It was more of a choker necklace than anything. “How does it look?” She turned to face him, realizing that he was still standing very close.

  “Beautiful,” he said, but he wasn’t looking at the necklace when he spoke.

  Jeff bought the necklace without taking it off again. He also tried to buy her a matching bracelet too, but Alicia said she didn’t wear bracelets. Too much jingling. Jeff found that funny.

  As they walked away from the booth, silence fell between them. Alicia wanted to find a way to tell him she was sorry for all she’d said to him before, but maybe he understood? He had just bought her a necklace, and he wasn’t exactly shying away from her.

  “Do you want to help me find a place for my new sculpture?” he asked, looking over at her.

  “At your house?” she asked, her pulse drumming just a little harder.

  “I think it would look better there than at my office.”

  Alicia hesitated. He wanted her to come to his house. Frankly, she was interested in seeing it—where he spent his nights and probably most of his weekends.

  “All right,” she said. “Do you need to tell your mom or anything?”

  “Nah,” Jeff said. “I’ll call her later. It looks like they’ve stayed busy the whole time I’ve been here.”

  Alicia sighed. “I’m so glad they’re so successful.”

  They’d made it to the parking lot, and Alicia spotted his SUV. Her car was only a couple of rows away.

  “I’ll follow you,” she told him.

  He didn’t seem surprised. “That sounds great.”

  They parted ways, and as Alicia climbed into her car, then pulled out to follow him, she hoped this was a good decision. It would at least give her some privacy to apologize. That thought made her feel nervous all over again, but she was determined to do it. She had to address the elephant in the room.

  She followed Jeff as he left the fair grounds and drove past the ski resort turnoff. Once they turned onto Oak Street, she knew he must live in the newer development her mom told her was built about three years ago. They passed several houses and made a couple more turns. The houses grew farther and farther apart as the lots grew bigger. Finally, Jeff pulled up to a house that was at the end of a street. It had a secluded feel, since it was on at least an acre lot. Past the front yard rose a hillside of trees, which eventually extended into more mountainous property.

  By the position of his house, she guessed that from his backyard he had a good view of the mountains. The garage door opened as Jeff drove up the driveway. She was about to park on the road when Jeff got out of his SUV and motioned for her to park in the driveway. So Alicia pulled into the driveway.

  She turned off the ignition and took a deep breath. Jeff was waiting for her, and she knew she had to talk to him and apologize. This was the moment. He smiled as she climbed out of the car. “Nice place,” she said. “It’s kind of like your own little neighborhood.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “It’s quiet. My closest neighbor lives overseas most of the year.” He led the way through the garage, carrying his wrapped sculpture. As they entered the house, he flipped on lights.

  The interior reminded her of a modern cabin. Knotty wood door frames, jewel-toned rugs, and leather furniture. And it was so . . . clean. Almost sparse.

  She stood in the front room and looked out the tall windows t
hat overlooked the front yard and street. “The architecture is beautiful. And everything is so clean.”

  “Clean?” Jeff said. “I guess that what happens with only one person living here.” He started to rip off the bubble wrap from the sculpture.

  Alicia watched him walk to the fireplace mantle. In the center was an old clock that looked as if it had seen better days. “This was my grandpa’s,” Jeff said, moving the clock to one end of the mantle. Then he put the statue in the center of the mantle.

  Stepping back, he said, “What do you think?”

  “It looks good there and goes with the theme of the room.” Alicia folded her arms against the slight chill of the room.

  “My grandpa would have liked it,” Jeff said. “It’s fitting that the sculpture shares the mantle with the clock.”

  “I remember meeting your grandpa a few times,” Alicia said. “When did he pass away?”

  Jeff turned to her. “About five years now. I can’t believe it’s been that long.” He frowned. “Are you cold?”

  She didn’t really want to admit she was, since she wouldn’t be staying long anyway. “Not really.”

  Jeff smirked and moved to turn on the fireplace switch. Orange gas flames leapt up instantly in the dark space. “Do you want a tour?”

  “Sure,” Alicia said. She was stalling with her apology, and she knew it.

  “The kitchen’s the second-best part of this place,” he said, leading the way and turning on more light.

  The kitchen’s knotty wood cupboards offset the thick slab of granite that made up the countertops. It looked like a kitchen out of a magazine. “It’s beautiful. A gourmet chef could be happy in here.”

  Jeff pointed upward to the chef’s rack over the large square island. “I don’t have the traditional hanging pots and pans, but it will be a selling point if I ever move.”

  Alicia walked about the kitchen. “Do you not keep anything on the counters? Like a bag of chips or a loaf of bread?”

  Leaning on the island and watching her, Jeff said, “I have so much room in the cupboards. And the pantry is huge.”

  Alicia stopped and faced him. “I guess I’m used to tons of clutter. Although she’s been a lot better with the help of your mom, and I’ve continued to purge when I can.”